Triple Stepping Up
by punnylove
Summary: AU, but only a little bit. Because we all know that Andie, Tyler, and Chase should have been reintroduced in Step Up 3.


_Summary: AU. Because we all know that Andie, Tyler, and Chase should have been reintroduced in Step Up 3. Also, if you like Nora over Andie, you might not like the fact that I had her break up with Tyler. Anyway, review please and tell me what you think!  
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><p><em>We can't do this. <em>Moose's eyes stung with defeat as he watched the Samurai dance. They were cruel—heartless, even, but their bodies moved with elegance even as the primal beat pounded into their movements. Luke and Natalie were holding their own, but they were just two against almost twenty, and the other Pirates looked beaten. The Santiago Twins muttered to themselves in Spanish before determinedly throwing themselves back into the fray, but they had no more to give and were quickly booed off the stage.

He glanced desperately at Kido and the other MSA dancers, but they shook their heads, looking as stumped as he was. "It's been too long," Kido said sadly, "Haven't danced for too long." Her accent thickened as the other MSA members looked away guiltily.

_If only the lights had worked_, Moose thought desperately. They would have given the Pirates the edge they needed. When Luke and Natalie had made their first performance, the crowd had been on their side. If the "neoflies," as Natalie had dubbed them, had burned, they would have won by now. But the lights refused to work with the material, and the Samurai got back on stage, with Kid Darkness leading the way.

Moose watched him dancing, his strong, powerful movements underlined with a grace that none of the other Samurai—not even Julien—could match. He had moves, technique, style—but it was his connection with the crowd that made him dangerous. He knew when to bait the Pirates, when to step back, when to freeze, and when to explode into a series of flips not even his own crew expected, and the crowd loved it.

Luke was suddenly next to him, Natalie an exhausted mess at his side, her hair sticking to her neck with sweat. "We're getting killed," she gasped, and Luke put an arm around her shoulders to steady her. His eyes gazed at Moose steadily, "What about your MSA buddies?" he asked, "Do they have anything we could throw at them?"

Moose glanced at them, but no one met his eyes. "We're out," he said miserably, "Drained. I've only ever seen them like this once, when Andie got kicked out of MSA and we thought our crew was done." The crowd's roaring drowned out his words, and Moose watched as Kid Darkness spun, drawing out the cheers before he flipped back up on his feet and gave a mocking bow, which only made the cheering louder. Moose exchanged glances with Luke and Natalie, knowing that they were thinking the exact same thing he was. They had to get back in there.

"It's been twenty-five minutes," Luke said suddenly, "There's a customary break every half-hour. If we hold up for five-more minutes—maybe we can figure something out." Moose nodded, and then threw himself back onto the dance floor. He faced off against Kid Darkness, relying on pure instinct to shape his moves, because he had absolutely nothing prepared—no routine, no planned sequences. It was absolute insanity, and yet, this was how he beat the other boy back before. And he only needed five minutes—he gave a little jerk to his hips, remembering the first time he'd danced in front of Andie. What had he done?

Luke panted, draining his water-bottle before pouring the rest over his head. Natalie did the same with hers, and then glanced at him. "Luke, what are we going to do?" Luke watched as the Santiago twins joined Moose, moving in perfect harmony. They were throwing everything they had, banking that they could hold the Samurai back. He glanced at the clock. Two minutes.

"Julien going to guess what we're doing," Natalie said insistently, "Look at him."

Luke did look at the other man. Julien was staring at him and Natalie intensely, but as soon as Luke met his eyes he glanced away. "He looks confused," Luke said, turning back to Natalie, "A battle hasn't gone on for so long since I was in diapers. The judges will remember, and the DJ, but I doubt Julien even knows about the rule." A roar met his ears and he glanced up. Moose was doing some sort of old-school jazz choreography, which luckily, got cheers instead of jeers from the crowd.

Luke looked into the crowd, frowning. There were three figures that stood out, just a little—three figures that didn't seem to belong there. All three were wearing matching hoods that obscured their faces, though one was obviously a woman and the other two, men. They had dancers' builds, the woman's exposed belly showed lean muscles and all three moved with a fluid grace that Luke had seen only a couple times. Once, with Moose, another, with Natalie. And Kid Darkness.

The bell rang, and the DJ called for a ten-minute break. Moose collapsed next to him, gasping, and Luke forced his eyes away from the trio. "Dude," the younger boy gasped, "Now I've really given it everything. Hope you guys have an idea, 'cause I'm all out."

Luke glanced at his crew, at the people he'd lived with, danced with, laughed with for the last year. They were all looking to him for leadership, and he knew he had to give them something. That was what his role was—not as a dancer, (he knew he was far from the best one), but a leader. "We can do this guys," he said, gripping Natalie's hand, "We almost had them beat, remember? We can do it again."

"Lo siento, Senor," one of the twins said, panting, "The Santiago Twins got nothing left." Moose's friends nodded. "This sucks," Kido said, looking sadder than Luke had ever seen her. Moose patted her on the shoulders. "Come on, guys!" he tried, "We've overcome the odds before. Remember the Streets? We danced in the rain then 'cause they wouldn't let us in the club! Hey, at least we're dry now, right?" He shrugged at Luke's confused look. "MSA story."

Suddenly, there was a scream. Kido leaped to her feet, racing forward like a madwoman. Luke watched, perplexed, as she threw herself halfway off the stage. "Andie!" the Korean woman shrieked, "Andie! Right here!"

"No. way." Moose's voice was so quiet Luke barely heard him. The younger boy looked like he didn't know whether to explode or implode, or both.

Luke hated feeling out of the loop. "Who's Andie?"

Moose's face was split with a grin that soon overtook his entire body. "This could be the spark we need to pull this off!" he said excitedly, completely ignoring him, "Assuming that Kido's not delirious—" his eyes widened as he looked past the older man. "Oh, my, god."

Luke turned, and saw the three hooded figures walking towards them. As they approached, the one in the front pulled back the fabric, revealing curled brown hair, smiling eyes, and delicate features. He heard the Santiago twins swooning behind him and rolled his eyes. Moose hurled forward, and the girl laughed as she caught him. Moose began babbling about the battle and Luke glanced at Natalie, who looked amused.

The other two men drew back the hoods as well, revealing a blond with a smile every bit as big as Moose's, and an older man who ruffled Andie's hair as he warned Moose to "back off, she's taken." Andie turned and grinned at him before promptly spinning and planting a kiss on the blond man's lips. He smirked at her, and she laughed. Luke swore he could hear the twins' hearts breaking.

The DJ called five-minutes. Luke walked forward, "So," he said, extending a hand, "Moose has done nothing but squeal and refuse to answer questions since you guys got here, so I guess I'll have to do the honors. I'm Luke, crew-leader of the Pirates."

Andie took his hand, smiling up at him. "Andie. I was crew-leader for the MSA group. Nice to meet you." She turned back to Moose. "Hey, I saw you up there, you were amazing." The blond looked after his girlfriend and smiled affectionately, "Chase," he said, taking Luke's hand, "Don't mind Andie, she's just excited to see Moose again. They haven't seen each other for months."

"Completely my fault," the other man said with a smirk, "I'm Tyler," he said, "I've been persuading her to tour with me. My ex bailed on me and the journey was lonely by myself." Chase shot him a look, and Tyler raised his hands innocently, "Hey, you were invited too."

"One minute!" the DJ called, and Luke winced.

Andie's voice reached the other men's ears. "What do you mean, you're beat? Come on, Moose, you know you can do it!" She had her hands on her hips, scolding the chastised Moose much like a mother would, and the sight made Luke grin. "Actually," Moose said sheepishly, "We were wondering if, um, you three could go up and maybe stall for us a little?"

"Wait, you mean you're all out of moves?" Chase asked, looking at the MSA dancers. "Dude," Monster replied, "We haven't all been off dancing. I'm getting my major in engineering. We still love to dance, and we're still good, but we're out of practice."

"You three need to go out and show us why we joined your crew again," Smiles said. Cable grinned, clapping Chase on the shoulder. "I haven't seen you guys dance for a year," the Asian boy said, "Better give me a good show."

"Time's up!" the DJ yelled, and the music started. Andie smiled at Tyler as the song came up. "Remember that time you battled me for MSA?" she asked, "And how you won because you took your shirt off?" Her grin grew more mischievous, "Well, that's not going to help you this time." Pulling off her hoodie, she stretched, and Luke heard at least one dancer sigh dreamily. "Ready for a rematch?" she asked, "It's even the same song."

"Hey, you're supposed to be battling them, not each other," Luke pointed out.

Andie winked at him. "We're supposed to be stalling, remember? 'Sides, sometimes the best attack is a good show." She stepped onto the stage, where the Samurai were already preparing to launch their routine. Chase sighed. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Tyler turned and smirked at him. "Watch and learn, pretty boy," he said, and then he mocked curtsied to Andie and Luke was too busy watching to pay attention to Chase's indignant muttering. They were evenly matched, Andie using her smaller frame and to offset Tyler's larger one. They danced, seemingly confrontational and yet moving together in a strange kind of grace that Luke had never seen before. The crowd loved it, going wild as Andie flipped through the air before jerking her hip at Tyler challengingly.

Tyler caught Andie by the elbow and spun her around, lifting her easily and wrapping her around his body. She spun, seemingly trying to get free but really using Tyler's arms as momentum as she spun into the air. "Ok, too much touching," Chase decided, and he joined in. Now the dance became a three-way battle, with Andie sometimes joining Chase against Tyler, sometimes backing Tyler against Chase. The arena buzzed, and Luke felt himself moving. It was like watching Natalie dance again, and, glancing at the girl, he could tell she was inspired too.

"Ok, man, time to show them what the Pirate can bring to the house," Jacob said, and he leapt onto the stage, the other Pirates joining him. Luke shot Natalie a look, and her soft smile made his heart flutter.

"Let's win this thing."


End file.
